Be Encouraged. Discover Happiness. Love Freely.

relationships

I loved every part of Gary Chapman’s book titled, The 5 Love Languages. A quick summary of this book is that it was written to help us identify how we give and receive love in our relationships. There are 5 main expressions of love that the book describes: Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Acts of Service and Receiving Gifts.

This isn’t my first time completing the quiz. A few years ago I was also curious to see where I ranked. The reason for the updated quiz now, is because I wanted to see how my love language changed after a few important life events: Marriage, a baby, relocating and job changes. I also wanted to take the test again to keep myself focused on growing my relationship as best as I can. With this information I can share it with my husband and he can do the same.

You DO NOT have to take this test in order to discover these qualities about yourself. Many of you already know the answers and have been applying what you know for as long as you can remember. Many of you are also in tune with your significant other and can make these types of changes without breaking a sweat! For those of you who are more of a visual person (guilty), this allows you the opportunity to refer back to your results if need be.

Each of us experiences life events such as career changes, health concerns, a change in finances, relationship status and/or family that impact how we relate to one another. But, what we need to do next is make necessary changes in order to meet our new levels of need. What you want, what you like, what you didn’t want or didn’t like has probably changed and that’s ok too.

Even without experiencing huge life events, what we need from others may very well change as you grow.

The most important thing that I’ve discovered after this quiz, was how our needs have changed. Yes, I knew life would be different. But, this was a reminder to me that my husband and I needed to be regroup in order to continue building our marital foundation.

Something that changed for me was my score for Words of Affirmation (expressing myself and hearing words like “I love you”). Previously this was important to me, but not a deal breaker. I was always shy and believed that people just knew how I felt. I liked hearing nice things but I was also not too hurt if I didn’t. Oh how things have changed!

I absolutely love hearing kind words. I love sharing how I feel with my husband and other loved ones. I’m learning the power of my words. The Bible describes how we each have the power to speak life into others as well as ourselves. I want to encourage and uplift my household and anyone who I may come into contact with. My relationships mean so much to me and I want to nurture them anyway that I can. Positive and clear communication is everything to me now. I’m still working on this though. But no ones perfect, right?

If you’ve been going though some rough times in your relationships with your significant other, your kids, friends, etc. I would consider taking this quiz. It may help offer more insight into what you need from others and help you to pinpoint exactly what that may be, if you’re having trouble figuring it out. It may also help you better understand someone who you’ve placed in the “they’re just off” category. It’s possible that your view of those relationships may just change.

Take Care of Your Needs and Grow in Your Relationships! Click HERE for the link to the brief quiz to discover your love language!

I’m back and I’ve missed you!! I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get back to doing what I love. To be completely transparent I needed a break because I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Yes, this is a normal part of life, but I admit that I didn’t exercise healthy ways of dealing with stress. My initial response has been to shut down or say “I’m fine”! I wanted more for myself, for my family and I needed to see immediate results.

I’ve spent a ton of time focusing on nurturing my faith in Jesus Christ. Something that I’ve always ranked last in my life, but now that has shifted. I’ve also prayed about seeking peace, health and direction for my future.

Basically, I’ve lost sight on what I wanted. One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to write because I enjoy it. I’m also passionate about encouraging others and healing relationships, so writing is one way I can do that.

It’s been forever since I’ve written a post and so much has changed. Fast forward a few years: I’m married to an incredibly amazing man, we relocated to a bigger home from an apartment, and our lives changed for the better after we had our son. So, life came at me fast, but that’s ok. 🙂

I’m here to say hello and that I’ll be getting back to sharing stories, resources and encouragement with my online family!

I’m hoping this may reach someone who may have been struggling to get back into a routine that they’ve lost sight of or something that brings them joy. You’re probably never going to find the most “perfect” circumstances to begin again and another day will be lost if you don’t start today. It’s also perfectly reasonable to give yourself time to regroup and refresh when you feel the need to do so.

To be encouraged in faith, love & happiness, be sure to follow my blog!

I spend a lot of time thinking of new ways that I can improve my overall well-being. I read new books (mystery and suspense appear to be my new thing), blog, listen to comforting music, and planning mini getaways.

Out of all of these options, nothing is more important to me than spending time with the significant people in my life.

I absolutely love being with my support team!

They give me life, and they help me to recharge. I’ve realized that being around others helps me to relax. If I’m having a not so great day, I actually sit and reflect on how to make things better, weigh the outcomes of any pros and cons of my day.

But!

What works best for me is being able to communicate with others. Not just anyone, but someone who I can honestly trust with my feelings. Someone whose perspective means the world to me. I enjoy being able to bounce ideas off of, and just vent to these listening ears.

I’m fortunate enough to have a huge group of people who will always have my best interests in mind. Being around these individuals helps me to reduce any unnecessary stress, make me laugh, and help to get my mind off of the latest “issue”.

Those of you who may be struggling to find energy, find yourself becoming more irritable and unhappy, and have tried different ways to recharge, with very little success…try reaching out to friends and family. They may not even know how much of a positive influence they can be in your life. You may not even know how helpful these individuals can be.

How do you make new friends?

While away in Mexico for my recent vacation, I pushed myself to meet new people. Instead of waiting for someone to “notice” me, I initiated many of the conversations with others. For the 7 days that I was in Mexico, I figured that I’d make the most of the trip, since this was basically my home away from home. I participated in activities that I would normally shy away from (pool volleyball is an example of this). The sound of the activity didn’t necessarily appeal to me, but I gave it a try anyway.

These structured activities were a great way for many new people to meet. My team obviously had a shared goal in mind, and we definitely worked hard with achieving this by any means (quite successfully might I add). As I discussed in my previous post (My Time Away In Mexico), I was able to gain new friendships. I plan on keeping in contact with each of them!

You can also try to:

Join a gym to find a group of people who share similar interests (different classes: zumba, cycling, etc).

Have a potluck at your house (I plan on doing so this week). Each person can bring a friend in addition to a dish.

Spend time with co-workers (get to know them outside of work? Maybe you’ll have more in common than you think).

Don’t have any close family or friends whom you would consider confiding in? Take it outside then, and meet some new faces!! Many of us enjoy blogging, and even share some of the most intimate details of our lives with others within the blogging community. I think this is great! I absolutely love blogging, and look forward to continue meeting such wonderful people.

How about using that same confidence used via Internet connection, and use that in our everyday lives as well??

Share a little bit more with others, be open to trying new things, and starting conversations with a new face. I’m hoping that you’ll be able to make some healthy, long-lasting relationships with new people. Your health just might depend on it!

But first, you’ll have to be willing to put in the work. I personally don’t thrive on relationships where I don’t feel as though I’m benefiting from. I want to share details about my life, and want others to be willing to do the same. So, be sure to have an idea in mind about what type of relationships you’d like to have with others.